Did you know that Christmas card is BIG Business here in America and around the world? Retail sales of greeting cards are estimated at more than $7.5 billion a year. Christmas card industry has been around for many, many, years now. Our Christmas card is now 177 years old. 

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Americans are a mobile people and this simple little Christmas card, a gesture of goodwill, love and affection are sent to special friends and family members all over the world. It has always been a way to keep in touch, wishing the best to love ones during the holiday season. And we must not forget all these simple Christmas cards have grown up around the birth of Christ.

And yet few people know the history of the Christmas card or how the card got started. It all started in December 1843 in London, England when a man had an overabundance of mail piling up in his household.  

Sir Henry Cole, (1808-1882) an energetic, charismatic, and quite handsome man in his day is credited with sending the first Christmas cards in 1843. The Christmas card was introduced to the public and its phrase, “Merry Christmas” were the first words on a commercialized card.

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Illustration of Santa Claus 
by Thomas Nast